Moving Guide

Off-season Moves Offer More Options

| Moving Tips | Gerry Clark

Summer months are to interstate moving what rush hour is to city traffic: busy, busy and more busy. By comparison, relocating September through April feels like a comfortable cruise in the country.

Why are May, June, July and August the busiest moving months? Simple. Reliable weather plus school vacation add up to a hard-to-beat combo. But the moving industry’s busy season isn’t perfect. In fact, scheduling an off-season cross-country move offers potentially more benefits, including cheaper prices and greater resource availability.

Trying to shoehorn into the packed summer season can prove problematic. Because movers’ schedules often are more open during the off-season, you’ll likely benefit from a lot more flexibility.

Just like any other national moving company, National Van Lines rides this seasonal teeter-totter. That puts us in the big-rig driver’s seat when it comes to recommending the season that’s likely to work best for you. After all, no matter what time of year, we make moving easy.

Feelin’ hot, hot, hot

Sure, summer is a terrific time. The sun’s energizing effects work great for revving people up and stimulating pre-move prep. The shadowy side? Moving trailers are jamming our streets and highways (and often moving slower than school buses). Accompanying those mega trucks? Families in cars making the trek to their new homes. That’s a lot of hot exhaust pipes.

Many people feed off that frenzy. But if you prefer a more relaxed relocation approach, you’ll probably opt for the September–April period. But pacing represents just one consideration for going with the off-season.

Off-season discounts & deals

A state-to-state moving company understands how the marketplace ebbs and flows. With business at a lower tide during off-season, you might find your moving men more willing to wiggle with prices. On the fence on whether to hire movers or do it yourself when it comes to packing? Moving-supply off-season overstock also could mean discounts on boxes, bubble wrap and tape. Remember, it’s all about supply and demand, so go ahead and demand away and see what happens. If you’re buying in bulk, even more opportunity exists for discounts.

The dating game

Nailing down a specific delivery date isn’t exactly an exact science. A time window (often a several-week span) is helpful, obviously, but typically, you won’t know your move-in date until 24 hours prior. Selling your current home, buying a new house, finding a place to live–these activities are complicated with end dates that can fluctuate through every step of the home-buying process. It’s not uncommon for pro movers to be booked out several months in advance during peak season, particularly if they come highly recommended (as will be the case with National Van Lines agents). That could mean you’ll have to rent a residence during the interim—which could last weeks or months.

Supply line

Remembering the supply-and-demand relationship, you’ll find your demand for materials will be satisfied in cooler months. During the summer sizzle, people are feverishly snapping up supplies right and left. It can be a teeth-gritting experience driving to moving-supply companies, only to find their box stock repeatedly depleted. Even packing tape and bubble wrap are going like hotcakes during the hot weather.

At National Van Lines, we make long-distance moving easy. As a national moving company, we’ve been helping families move memories for nearly 90 years. Contact us online or call 877-590-2810 for answers to your questions plus a free moving quote.